Toy railway with sound effects



July l, 1941.

w. R.- SMITH TOY RAILWAY WITH SOUND EFFECTS s 'sheets-sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1939 July l, 1941 w. R. SMITH 2,247,418

TOY RAILWAY WITH SOUND EFF-ECTS v Filed April 21, 1939 s sheets-sheet 2 ATI'GRNEY July 1, 1941. w. R. sMlTH TOY RAILWAY WITH SUND EFFECTS Filed April 21. 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INV ENTOR ATTORNEY Pnented Ju1'y1, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 'roy RAILWAY wrrn SOUND nrrac'rs` william n. smith, philadelphia, ra.

Application April 21, 1939, Serial N 269,185

11 Claims.

This invention relates to sound effects produced in connection with animated toys such as electric toy trains and particularly concerns methods and apparatus for'producing in conjunction with a-toy train and its toy railroad station or depot stopping and starting performance of the train at the depot correlated with l sound eects issuing from the depot realistically imitating the announcements of the station agent with regard to theway-stations of the train, the noises associated with the stoppingand starting of a steam locomotive, advertising notices, or other desired sounds designed to enhance the realism of the action of the toy particularly in the minds of boys.

One object of the invention is to produce the indicated sound effects as a function of the per' formance of the train without any requirement for manually initiating or terminating them.

Another object is to provide for automatic repetition of the same sound'effects at each arrival of any given toy train at any given toy station or depot.

A further object is to conceal within the conventional structure of the toy depot all apparatus necessary to produce the sound effects.

A further object is to'equip a toy railway track with electrical control means operable 4by .the wheels of the toy train in a manner to initiate the sound effects referred to.

A fur-ther object is to provide a system of electromechanical agents adapted to carry through a; cycle of sequential electrical controlling effects and then automatically terminate its own action.

A further object is so to associate the supply of current to the electrical railway track with the electromechanical `cycle devices that the latter determine not only when and how longthe toy train shall remain stopped at the station but also eifect the synchronizing of the sound effect with the automatic stopping and starting of the train,

-Certain related or contributary objects of the structures herein disclosed are referred to more fully in copending divisional applications referred to hereinafter.

The herein recited objects of the invention will become clear from the following descriptionv of the details of a preferred embodiment thereof in which description reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a loopv portion of a toy railway track system located in the neighborhood of atoy railway station or depot, a portion ofthe track loop being broken away and the locomotive of a toy train shown as arriving on the track in front of 'the'statiom a portion of the locomotive being broken away to expose contact parts electrically associated with the track.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the toy railway station of Fig. l with its roof broken away to expose sound effect apparatusl contained therewithin, the oor partition being also broken away to expose portions of a phonograph record therebelow.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of said apparatus and phonograph record exposed by breaking away portions of the surrounding side walls of the depot building and platform.

Fig. 4 isa fragmentary view taken in section on the plane 4-4 in Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the electromechanical cycle controller and its circuit conplanes 1-'11n Figs.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the contact shoe unit of Fig. 5 showing fragments oi the rails between which it is mounted and also a fragment of one of the locomotive wheels which rides onine rail and engages the contact shoe of said un Fig. 9 is `a view looking upwardly at the bottom of the contact shoe unit.

Fig. 10 is a view taken in section crosswise th track rails looking from the right at the end of the wheel-depressed contact shoe in Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing the contact shoe elevatedas in Fig. 7 when relieved of the weight of the train wheel.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view of the apertured end portion of the base plate oi.' the contact shoe unit withthe end of the contact shoe removed therefrom -to'show the shape of the aperture.

Fig. 13 is a. fragmentary view taken in lsection on the plane II-IS in Fig, 2. y

The sound producing apparatus of the present improvements is located partly within the toy station or depot building I0 and partly within its hollow platform Il which toy building is representative of any housing of suitable shape.fsize and appearance to be logically associated with a toy railway thereby to aiford means for camouflag'ing or concealing the presence of such apparatus. Upon the floor partition I2 of the combined station and platform structure and within the walls I3 of the toy station building there is mounted any suitable electric motor I4. To prevent the motor hum or vibration from being magnified by the sheet metal of the station structure. pads I5 of soft rubber or like vibration dampening material may be squeezed between the motor feet and the oor partition I2 by mounting screws I5. The motor shaft I1 has worm threads I8 cut upon it.

A vertical shaft I9 has its top bearing in the flange 2I of an upstanding bracket 22 whose oppositely turned bottom flange is secured to the floor I2 by screws 24. Shaft I9 is given additional bearing where it passes through the floor partition I2 and it projects therebelow to receive the nut 26 on the threaded terminal of a lower end portion of the shaft having a reduced diameter to produce the shoulder 25. A shouldered collar 29 is carried on the reduced portion of shaft I9 and seats against the shoulder 25, the smaller diameter of which collar fits the central aperture in a disc phonograph record 29 which is centralized thereby and clamped against the top flange of the collar by a plate-like turntable 21 forced upwardly by the nut 26. Shaft I9 carries fixed thereon the worm wheel 3| which is spaced slightly above the bracket ange 2| by a thrust washer 30 and which is in mesh with and driven by the worm threads I9 of the motor shaft I1. Between its top and bottom bearings shaft I9 has the worm threads 32 cut thereon.

'I'he upstanding wall of bracket 22 affords bearing for one end of a horizontal cam shaft 33 whose opposite end is journaled in an upstanding bracket 34 secured to the floor partition I2 constitute any of the well known forms of devices for producing by means of a contained diaphragm audible vibrations responsive to vibrations imparted to its downwardly extending needle 59 by the sound track 50 on the top surface of record 29. Needle 59 reaches the record by extending down .through an aperture 51 in floor4 partition I2. The weight of the reproducer 56 is allowed to press the needle point against the record because of the positioning of its bearings in the brackets 52 and 53 which bearings are arranged ata height normally permitting the needleto track upon the record.

The bearing for the reproducer trunnion in the front bracket 53 may comprise a vertically elongated slot 6I opening through the top edge of the bracket, while the bearing for the other trunnion in the rear bracket 52, although it may be a closed'hole, will preferably permit enough play of that trunnion to allow the front trunnion to rise and fall in the slot 5I a sufficient distance to on occasion lift the needle 59 from the record by the screw 35. A worm wheel 31 is'fixed to shaft 33 and meshes with the threads 32 on the shaft I9. Worm wheel 31 is separated from bracket 22 by a thrust washer 36. Fixed to shaft 33 is the cam cylinder 38 having in side-by-side relation a mechanical actuating hump 39, an outstanding segmental flange 4I cooperative with a spring leaf type of electrical contact 42, and an indented recess 43 cooperative with a similar spring leaf type of electric contact 44.'

Both of contacts 42 andv 44 are mounted on a block 46 of electrical insulatlve material secured f' to the oor partition I2 and adapted to serve as a terminal binding post base for the convenient connection and interconnection of certain conductors more fully identified in Fig. 5. Four binding posts provided for this purpose are numbered respectively 41, 49,V 49 and 50. Binding posts 48 and -49 are ln electrical contact with, and if desired may serve to secure, leaf contacts 42 and 44, respectively, to the insulatlve block 45. Except as connected by lead wires or to ground" it will be understood that binding posts 41, 48, 49 and 50, are electrically insulated from the apparatus.

Situated at the right of the foregoing described apparatus in Figs. 2 and 3 are two widely spaced upstanding brackets 5 2 and 53, each secured to the -fioor partition I2 by screws 54. Spanning the space between brackets 52 and 53 and journaled therein by means of its trunnions 55 is a sound reproducer 56 which may be of generally cylindrical or disc-like shape and preferably provided with a weight which is oil'set on the left side of the laxis of its trunnion 55 in the form of the projecting body 58. Reproducer 56 may one another and from all other metallic parts of and later restore it into playing contact therewith. Foraso lifting the front trunnion, a bellcrank lever 62 is pivoted to bracket 53 at B3 so that its lower or follower end 54 may swing into and out of the path of the cam hump 39. When forced by vthis hump to swing counterclockwise about pivot 63, the upper end of lever 62 will cam under the trunnion 55 and lift it sufficiently to remove the needle 59 from engagement with the record. If desired, any of the now common forms of electrical pickup heads may be substituted for the mechanical sound reproducer 58.

For enabling the arrival of the train at the station to set in action the electrical controlling and sound reproducing apparatus above described, there is applied on the track structure between the outer or traction -rail 58 and the power or third rail 51, an electric contact shoe unit indicated as a whole by 10 in Fig. i and whose details are best shown in Figs. 6 to 11 inelusive. The rails, as usual, are elevated above the floor or table surface on which the toy railway track is laid out. by the sleepers 69. Each rail is secured to each sleeper by two tongues 59 struck up out of the sheet metal of the sleeper in a manner to overlap thev foot flange of the rail and be squeezed downwardly thereagainst. The

power or third rail 51 while mechanically held in a similar-manner is separated, of course, from ymetallic Contact with the sleepers 58 by facings 1I of electrical insulatlve material such as thin sheet libre.

All parts of the contact shoe unit are mounted on an elongated base plate 12 which may comprise a strip of fibre or other stiff insulatlve material. The base plate 12 has an aperture 14 near each end shaped to produce the aperture contained tongue 15 as shown in Fig. 12. The elongated metallic contact shoe 19 has turned-down ends 11 each containing a vertically elongated slot'13 occupied and guidedby the tongue 15. Normally shoe 18 is kept elevated in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 11 by the uplifted ends of the light leaf spring 19 so that the bottom end of its slots 13 are engaged by tongues 15, respectively. Spring 19 is preferably made of good electrical conductive material, such as spring brass .or phosphorus bronze. and its central portion is rial adapted to receive and clamp the end Aoi' an electri conductor as shown in Fig. 8. Clip l2 is prev ted from swiveling about the 'eyelet Il by means of its tongue Il which penetrates the baseplate 12 and if needed a similar tongue may extend from the leaf spring 'Il into some guiding aperture4 inthe base plate 12 izo-prevent spring 1! from becoming disaligned with contact shoe 16. Ordinarily, however. the eyelet Il requires no aid to keep the parts referred to in proper alignment.

Between each the corresponding end of the contact shoe 18. base plate 12 carries a pair of oppositely bowed downwardly extending spring mounting arms 84 and 85, each clamped rrnly against the `bottom surface of base plate 12 by eyelets l1 and held fromfswiveling about the eyelet by a tongue il embedded in the insulative material of the base plate. Thus all metallic parts of the contact shoe unit, except only the spring detent arms 84 and 85, are held spaced from electrical contact with rails 66, 61 when the base plate 12 is placed between said rails and pressed downwardly against the foot flanges thereof. Unit 'III preferably has a length less than the distance between sleepers 68 vand hence need not interfere with the latter. The mounting arms 84, 85 are forced to spring inwardly to their broken line positions in Fig. 11 when passing the space between the rail flanges, and thereafter spring apart to their full line positions shown in Fig. so that -the base plate 12 brings up against the rail flanges with a sort of snap action and is yieldingly held there with considerable rmness by the four spring arms 84 and 85. It will be observed in Fig. 10 that the long edge of the contact shoe 16 is thus positoned so closely to the outer rail I6 that the top surface of the shoe, being normally high enough, is engaged by the flange on the metallic wheels 89 of the locomotive and thereby pressed downwardly by the weight of the locomotive to its position shown in Figs. 'l and 10 as the wheel rolls along that stretch of the track rail opposite the shot.. Spring 18, of course, is weak enough to yield to the weight of the locomotive and cars of the train without lifting them from any rail. Thus the metal of the wheel I9 electrically bridges contact shoe 16 and the outer rail Si and completes a circuit between the latter and the binding post 82. The broken line position of contact shoe 1B in Fig. 8 shows that the shoe is capablev of tilting freely as well as free to move up and down.

The complete track as represented in Fig. 1 includes a second traction rail 85. `In Fig. 1- a special section of the track somewhat beyond the station in the direction of travel of the train is indicated as composed of a traction rail section 9i', a central rail section 02. and another thecurrentvis led through the electric motor. which is carried by and drives the locomotive according to well known practice, and the locomotive motor circuit is completed through the locomotive wheel I8 to thefouter rail l Because well known in the art. it is not deemed necessary to illustrate herein the electric motor which drives the :locomotive nor its electrical connections to the collector tongue and to the locomotive wheels 88. The same may be of many l dierent well known forms within theprinciples `end ofthe leaf .spring 'Il and.

of these improvements. l l

The operation will be described with particular reference to the electromechanicaldiagram ofv Fig. 5 in which certain` structural parts are designated by the same reference characters as in other figures of the drawings. 'Ihe condition of the apparatus withinthestation is that vshown in Figs. 3 and5 in which the sound reproducer needle B9 is resting on the sound track of record 2l, electrical contact is made between 42 and 4| and electrical contact is broken between 44 and 38 because of recess 4I. It is assumed'that traction rail section 93. Each end of said rails 9| and 93 is electrically insulated from the corresponding rails 66 and 95, respectively. 0f the continuous track with which it aligns by means of plug connectors $4 composed of insulatingmaterial which snugly but removably fit the hollow interior 94 of the top or tubular portion of the rails. Plugs of like shape but made o f conductive material connect eachend of rail O2 with the regular power or third rail il so that ytheV the train, drawn by locomotive 01. approaches station Ill from right to left in Fig. l, its opposite locomotive wheels 88 riding respectively on rails 88 and 95, and its current collector tongue 98 riding on the power or third rail l1. The contactshoe unit 10 is installed as shown in Figs. 1

and 9 at a suitable point along the stretchl of track passed over by the locomotive in arriving at the station. The heavy single lines in Fig. 5 indicate electrical conductors as follows: Conductors 8l connect one side of a battery 8l, orV

other source of electrical power such as a toy transformer, both to the power or third rail Il and to the binding post 41. Another conductor IUI connects binding post 41 to one terminal of the motor I4 in the station I0. Another conductor Illz connects the opposite side-of battery Il'. or equivalent transformer, to the rail I8 and has a branch also connecting to the binding post' Il. Within the station another conductor Ill con. nects binding post 50 with ythe rotating metallic cam cylinder 38 or any part in a ground" circuit therewith, the floor portion I2. bearing another conductor lill connects the binding post 4! with the other terminal of the motor I4.

Through the circuits formed by these conductors connected as described. the ilrst effect of the engagement of contact shoe 1l by the ilange of the arriving locomotive wheel I9 is to complete circuit -iM-'BB--u-IIB-I- IL- IML-M This energizes the motor i4 which instantly, through worm I8,` worm wheel Il,

shaft I9. worm 32, worm wheel 31, and shaft 33.

V.starts to rotate cam cylinder 3l counterclockwise in Figs. 3 and 4. At the same time the' turning of said shaft I9 rotates the turntable I1 at v usual phonograph turntable speed together with the disc phonograph record 29 carried thereon.

Almost the instant-that cam cylinder 3l' begins to rotate clockwise two electrical effects take place. Recess 43 is removed from register with the free endof 1eaf contact u so that the latter .rides against and in electrical contact with the periphery of cam cylinder Il, ,the latter being of good electricalconductive material. This sets up 'in the insulated section of the track, is electrically dead-ended at the leaf contact 42, the latter now being incapable of engaging with the cylinvc'irlcal periphery of cam 38. Thus when the locomotive reaches traction rails 9i and 92 in the insulated section of track it finds itself deprived register with leaf contact 44 (and before circuit becomes broken between 4I and 42) There now being no train wheels on the contact shoe 16, the motor I4 automatically stops, leaving the entire electromechanical system of Fig. 5 automatically restored to and dormant in its original condition ready to repeat its described cycle of operation including the stopping and starting of the train and the starting vand stopping of the self repeating phonographic apparatus upon the appro'ach of the same or another train at the novel sound emitting station of this invention.

-In track systems employing but two instead of three rails and in which current to run the train 'is picked up from each of the two'traction rails alone by wheel trucks having conductive and insulative wheels on respectivelyopposite sides of the train. therails 93 and 95 need merely be omitted and the rails 61, 92 used as a traction rail. The base plate 12 of the contact shoe 'Il may be widened if necessary to span a greater space between the flanges of a two-rail track of power and coasts to a standstill before itsv wheels have passed beyond the said insulated section of track. As the train slackens speed and coasts to a standstill in front of the station, the initial silent portion of the record sound track has passed under the reproducer needle A and the recorded portion of the record begins to produce noises from the vicinity 'of the'locomotive realistically imitating the familiar warning cla'ng of the engine bell and hissing of air brakes as the train comes to rest. The train remains standing at the station while the phonograph reproducer continues to project further realistic the train with or without such advertising mat ter as may be desired where my invention is employed for sales eifect as on a store counter. By this time cam cylinder 38 has completed about 'a half revolution, and cam segment 4| will have resumed engagement with the leaf contact 42 preferably maintaining the edge of shoe 16 as closelyasitisshowninFigs. 9and l0totherail which will correspond to rail 66 in the electrical connections of Fig. 5.

A manually operable switch |01 may be employed at some remote control station, if desired,

for selectively making or breaking connection between l2 and I4. `When switch IIII is open obviously engagement of contact shoe I6 bythe locomotive wheels will not start motor I4 whereupon the sound effects will be omitted and the train will pass thestation without stopping.

thus furnishing track current to rails 9| and 93 in the circuit 99-I02-I03-48-4I-42-I04-9I through the motor of the locomotive to 92--61--98-99 whereupon the train will resume. its motion and begin to draw out of the station. At this point the phonograph needle is tracking on a portion of the record which has been recorded to produce the familiar sound of pulling of steam associated with the starting of a locomotive accompanied by sounds of the engine whistle as the train pulls away from of the station. Y

'The cam hump 39 now swings lever 62 counterclockwise which lifts the front trunnion in its bearing slot 6I and smartly raises needle 59 which has tracked radially inward of the record (or toward the left) from its full line position to its brokenline position in Fig. 3. Thereupon the reproducer head 56 is swung smartly counterclockwise by the force of its offset weight 58 and to an extent limited by the stop 5I. A further small degree of rotation of the cam cylinder 3l counterclockwise causes the hump 39 to pass the follower end 64 of lever 62 so that the latter is permitted to return to its position shown in Fig. 3 whereupon the needle 59' will be lowered into playing engagement with the beginning of the silent portion of soundtrack on the record. But by this time the record has ceased control the vicinity There is contemplated within the scope of this invention thel use of phonographic or other kinds of sound reproducing apparatus driven by spring powered motors instead of by an electric motor, in which case the function of the circuit controller 43-44-48 may be merely to startand stop the running of the spring motor at suitable times synchronized with the travel performance of the locomotive. There is also contemplated all possible use of the elements yand features of this invention with a spring motor impelled locomotive. Other forms of time giving electrical apparatus capable of sychronizlng sound eiect' with toy train action may be substituted for the electro-mechanical apparatus herein specifically disclosed. Because of the Aabove and many other departures that are possible from the particular parts and arrangements herein employed to illustrate the invention the following claims will be understood' as intended to cover all substitutes and equivalents which fairly come within their terms.

'I'he structure shown in Figs. 6 to 12, inclusive, is claimed herein only in combination with, or as incorporated in a system involving some one or more of the structures shown in other figures of the drawings. The structure of Figs. 6 to 12, inclusive, is specifically claimed in the application lof M. H.- Frisbie,rSerial No. 268,300, filed April 17, 1939.

The structure of Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 13, is speciiically claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 294,109, filed September 9, 1939.

I claim:

1. In a toy railway, pseudo sound and action synchronizing accessories for enhancing the realism with which the action of an electrically driven toy locomotive fashioned as a model of a real steam locomotive simulates the performance of the latter. including in combination with said rotating because cam recess 43 has returned to 7v5toyvlooolf11otive. track. omouagd automotive cycle performing apparatus stationed in proximity to a stretch oi' said track constructed and equipped to produce a program of sequential differing sounds capable of simulating such sounds as are produced by a real steam locomotive in stopping or departing at a station, means stationed and arranged within said stretch of track to be operatively responsive to the arrival of said toy locomotive thereat and further arranged and connected thereupon to initiate a cycle of sound producing operation of said apparatus, together with means sequentially to cause said toy locomotive to slow down and subsequently to speed up on said stretch ot track during the production of said program of sounds, whereby said sounds will deceptively seem to be produced by the per- Iormance ot said toy locomotive because of the proximity of said toy locomotive to said camouilaged sound producing apparatus.

2. In a toy railway. in combination. a, stretch of toy track, a stationary track-side depot, a power impelled toy locomotive fashioned as a model oi' a real steam locomotive and adapted to travel toward said depot on said track, means to deprive said toy locomotive oi.' impelling power as it approaches said depot thereby to cause the toy locomotive to slow down and come to a stop in proximity to said depot, means operatively associated with said power depriving means to produce automatically while said toy locomotive is arriving at said depot a program of sequential dii'i'ering sounds simulating dinering sounds produced by a real steam locomotive in coming to a stop at a depot, said sound producing means being substantially concealed within and thereby camouilaged by said toy depot whereby said sounds deceptively seem tc be made by said toy locomotive.

3. In a toy railway, in combination. a stretch of toy track, s. stationary track-side depot. a power impelled toy locomotive fashioned as a model of a real steam locomotive and adapted to come'to a stop on said track proximate said depot. means to impart impelling power to said toy locomotive to cause the latter to restart. pick up speed and pull away from said depot, means operatively associated with said power imparting means to produce automatically while said toy locomotive is pulling away from said depot a program of sequential differing sounds simulating diiIering sounds produced by a real steam locomotive in picking up speed and pulling away from a depot, said sound producing means being substantially concealed within and thereby camouilaged by said toy depot whereby said sounds deceptively seem to be made by said toy locomotive.

4. Toy electric railroad apparatus, embodying in combination, a current supplied toy track, a toy locomotive on said track adapted to be impelled bv said current, a sound reproducing device stationed near said track equipped and operative to produce a predetermined series of sequential differing sounds of a kind which accompany the starting or stopping oi' a real locomotive, a prime mover stationed near-said track Aand device and connected to operate the latter to cause reproduction of said series of sounds, means enabling the travel of said locomotive in the neigh borhood of said device to start the running of said prime mover thereby to intiate said repro# duction of sounds while the'locomotive is relaelectrically connected in circuit with said track in a manner sequentially to deenergizerand reenergize said locomotive thereby to cause thelocomotive iirst to stop and later to restart while it is relatively near said device and while said device is producing said series of sounds, 'whereby said sounds may deceptively seem to come' from said locomotive.

' 5. Toy electric railroad apparatus las deilned ative to produce a limited program of sequential sounds simulating diilering sounds commonly heard at a real railway depot upon the arrival and departure of a train, an electrically driven prime mover in said depot connected to actuate said device,- means controlled by the arrival of said locomotive at a predetermined pointin the neighborhood o! said depot and operative to start the-running of said prime mover, and a circ'uit controller in said depot operable bysaid prime mover and electrically connected to cut oil' the supply of current by which said locomotive is powered and to thereafter govern the supply oi' electric current both to said prime mover and to said track.

7. Toy railroad apparatus, embodying in combination, an electrli'led toy track, a toy locomotive powered to ride along said track by means of track conducted current, a sound reproducing device besides said track equipped and operative to produce a. limited program of sequential sounds simulating differing sounds which accompany the starting and/or stopping oi' a real steam locomotive, an electrically driven prime mover connected to actuate said device, means enabling the arrival of said locomotive at a predetermined point to start the running ot said prime mover, and a circuit controller operable by said prime mover and electrically' connected to govern the supply of electric currentboth to said prime mover and to said track.

8. A toy electric railway system includinggin combination, toy track structure including electrically conductive rails, a toy locomotive having a conductive traction wheel electrically in circuit with one of said rails, an electric circuit terminal device stationedV in mechanical association with istic of railway operation while said locomotive is passing said apparatus. means to conceal the presence of said apparatus at the track side whereby said noises will appear to be produced by tively near said device, and circuit controlling means stationed near said prime mover mechanically connected to be operated by the latter and said locomotive when the latter is near said ap paratus, and an electrically controlled prime mover stationed near said track mechanically connected to motivate said apparatus and electrically connected in said circuit thereby to be energized by the passing oi' said locomotive for operating said apparatus, together with circuit controlling means stationed near said track constructed and impelled by said prime mover in a manner sequentially to cut oifand later restore electric current to saidf'track rails.

9,;'In a toy electric railway system for toy trains, the'combination with two electric track rails one ot which has a normally live insulated section, or a source of electric current, a phonograph includinga record carrier, an electric motor connected to rotatesaid carrier for producing sound from said record, an electrical controller impelled by said motor, an electrical contact device associated with one of said track rails inamannertobe engaged bytoytrainsin passing, a nrst electric circuit containing in series .relation said current source said track rail said contact device and said motor, a second electric circuit containing in series relation said current source said motor and said controller, and a third electric' circuit containing in series relation said current source said controller said insulated section of one oi' said track rails and the other of said track rails, in which system said ilrst and second circuits are normally open while said third circuit is normally closed, said contact de- 4vice is constructed and arranged when engaged by a passing toy train to close said first circuit as a means of initiating a succession of changes in all Y of said circuits and said succession of changes includes next opening said third circuit and closing said second 'circuit next closing said third circuit and ilnally opening said second cirto said rails, a phonograph includlnga reproducible record of sounds characteristic orv the stopping and/or starting of a railway train, an.

electric motor connected to rotate said recordror producing lsaid sounds. a ilrst electric circuit normally open including said motor andl said current source, a -second electric circuit normally open including said motor and current source. an electrical contact device spaced along said track away from said insulated section toward an approaching locomotive and associated with one of said trackrails ina manner to respond to the passing of said locomotive in a manner momentarily to close one of said circuits to start said motor. an electrical circuit; controller responsive to the running of said motor and thereby rendered operative to close the other of said circuits, whereby said motor continues to run while said -locomotive is traveling after having passed said contact device, and a third circuit governed by said circuit controller and normally closed thereby including said insulated track section and said current source.

11. In a toy electric railway system, the combination deiined in claim l0 in which the said electrical controller is constructed and arranged rst to open and later to close said third circuit thereby temporarily to cut out current to said insulated track section for temporarily arresting the said locomotive thereon and later to reopen one of the other said circuits after a predetermined period of running of said motor thereby automatically to stop the production of sound by said phonograph record after said locomotive has resumed its travel.

WILLIAM R. SMITH.

A @afgang 1,01 5.2. liflii; j. 1

ERTIFICATE O15- cp'RaEcTIomf j t 'July 1, 191m. wILLAn R'. Smm'. It is heeby crtified that-error 'a-ppearsi-n. the prir-xted specification that the Vsame maj conformto the reord 'of the c'se 1'n,th.e-.P.'te1`1t.Offc.

signed and saale@ this 5u; day of August, A.. n; 191;1..

A A Henry Van Arsdalle,4 A (S'eal) -I -hAting ,Commissioner of Patents. 

